And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

This little book, the smallest Old Testament book, of Obadiah is one of a number of prophetic passages focused on the Edomites, the descendants of Esau. The facts be known, there is more judgment pronounced against Esau and the Edomites than any other peoples in the Bible.

You'll notice that both Jacob and Esau are mentioned in our key verse,verse 18. These boys are twin brothers born to Isaac and Rebekah,Genesis 25. The boys started to struggle in the womb of their mother before birth, which actually set the theme of their lives, an ongoing struggle throughout their 4,000 years of history.

These two brothers will continue to fight, in fact, all the way to the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Though many political leaders, even on the international scene, have tried to bring peace and stability to the Middle East by resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it will not happen until Jesus comes back.

Look back with us to the account of the early days of Jacob and Esau found inGenesis 25. Genesis 25is the record of their birth with Esau, the firstborn, howbeit by less than an entire body length, remember Esau came out of his mother's womb with Jacob holding onto his heel. Technically, Esau was the firstborn with all the privileges of being the firstborn, he received the "birth rite" and at the end of his father's life Esau would receive the "blessing".

You remember that Esau sold his birth right to Jacob and Jacob manipulated his father Isaac to get Esau's blessing,Genesis 27. Please notice inGenesis 25:23that the Lord told Rebekah, the mother of these two boys, that they would both become a "nation of peoples". The verse also tells us that the elder, Esau, would serve the younger, Jacob.

As you trace these two boys and their families as they became nations over the last 4,000 years, we come to the present-day and find the two nations, Israel and the Palestinian peoples.

The prophecy that God gave to Rebekah,Genesis 25:23, has been fulfilled. The prophecy found in our reading for today will be fulfilled also, possibly in the near future.

Verse 18, our key verse, says that Jacob, the Jewish state of Israel will be the "flame" and Esau, the Palestinian people the "stubble" and the "kindling wood". Obadiah's prophecy will be fulfilled at the coming of Jesus.

The Edomites, the Palestinians will be destroyed, "as if they had never been", verse 16b. That doesn't mean that individual Palestinians won't be saved, but as a people they will be destroyed.

The stage is being set for Obadiah's prophecy to be fulfilled. It will be fulfilled at the return of Jesus, but remember, before all of this happens, seven years before, the Rapture will happen. The Rapture could happen today, especially in light of all that is going on among the Jews and the Palestinians. Keep looking up.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Lord help me to reach out to the Palestinian people and others with the saving grace of Jesus Christ since I know the times in which we are living.